Thursday, January 22, 2009

New Illustration - Heron

Today, we start on a new project. The subject - a heron photographed at the San Diego Zoo. I have decided to put a lot of work into the background. The heron itself is relatively simple and quick to do, but the background has a lot of detail and will really "make" the picture. There are a number of elements that will be included here; feathers, leaves, branches, and water. Here is the original photograph I am working from:


I really liked the lighting in this photo; shadows, back lighting on the bird, dark shadows and light highlights. All ideal for a pen drawing.

Here is a first view of the pen work:
(Click on the image to enlarge)

Whenever I start a new drawing I usually feel dissatisfied with its appearance in the early stages, but as I press on it begins to take shape. I have arrived at the stage of the picture where it feels like it is just beginning to take shape in the view above.

2 comments:

Wendy said...

Wow, what a talent. I love pen and ink drawings. I wish I could draw like this. Waaah!

Really lovely. Keep up the great work!

Anonymous said...

oh, love your drawing, i used to sketch a lot (way back in the Philippines), but for some reasons, I haven't gone back to it, maybe I am really getting lazy now :(